Newport specialty popcorn brings ‘wow factor’ to Milford

Stephanie Dudding, owner of Inpopnito, in the new shop that sells gourmet flavored popcorn at 3 River St. in Milford.

Stephanie Dudding, owner of Inpopnito, in the new shop that sells gourmet flavored popcorn at 3 River St. in Milford.

Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

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Stephanie Dudding, owner of Inpopnito, in the new shop that sells gourmet flavored popcorn at 3 River St. in Milford.

Stephanie Dudding, owner of Inpopnito, in the new shop that sells gourmet flavored popcorn at 3 River St. in Milford.

Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

Newport specialty popcorn brings ‘wow factor’ to Milford

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MILFORD — When Stephanie Dudding opened the Inpopnito specialty popcorn store here two weeks ago, she was already a huge fan of the Newport, Rhode Island-based business — and that’s just how the founders want it to be.

Dudding has dabbled in home businesses, but the store at 3 River St. next to Subway — born of a love for the popcorn — is her first “brick and mortar” business.

“This is the first time I truly wanted,” to open a business, she said, because, “I never felt this way until this product.”

Inpopnito, “Popcorn in Disguise,” as the company bills it — they have 125 rotating flavors — has such a following in Newport on the main tourist drag of Thames Street, that in the space of 45 minutes on a recent Saturday, four customers who came into the Milford store said they were there because they knew it from Rhode Island.

One of them was Renee Easom, who stopped in to get a gift certificate for her daughter who made a sports team.

Dudding, whose husband, Randy, is an owner of RD Welding Co., said the family vacations in Newport often and as a fan of Inpopnito has gotten to know founder Hal Miller and his wife, Pam Remy, during the last four years.

The Milford Inpopnito is the first and only apart from the mothership and so far, Milford folks are loving it, Dudding said.

The store is simple — a space filled with metal shelves lined with clear bags of popcorn.

They rotate the flavors, so not all 125 are available at the same time, but there’s quite an array of flavors in stock, including the flavors: Jamaican Me Crazy, Chicago cheddar, dill pickle, waffle cone, Buffalo Breath , Newport cheddar, sea spray caramel, garlic bread, bacon cheddar, Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, jalapeno pepper, cotton candy. The bags are $7 each or buy three, get one free.

And of course, there is lots of sampling, because you can’t always imagine how dill pickle popcorn will taste. Dudding said her favorite flavor is Mrs. O’leary’s cow because it’s a cheddar that gets hot at the end.

At the Newport store the bestseller is sea sprayed caramel and the second is Newport cheddar.

“It will be fun to see if they stay the favorites,” in Milford, Dudding said. “You don’t realize how many people like popcorn.”

Hal Miller, who had a long career in sales and marketing, said he was looking for a new challenge, so he and Remy, test marketed a few food-products, until deciding they wanted to go with specialty popcorn about five years ago.

They did a seasonal test market store in Hyannis, Mass., opened there, and met with success, but it was the Newport location that really took off.

“You can find popcorn in many other places…We were looking to be spectacular,” Miller said.

They opened in Newport in 2014 — they are closed from New Year’s Day to middle of February — and met with such success that they bought the production facility.

Miller said they do a lot of business online, wholesale 12 flavors to some 60 businesses, supply popcorn for weddings — some of them very high profile — corporate gifts and more.

Miller said he, Remy, or their two college-age children work the counter, so customers get to know the family. The business boomed largely by word of mouth, Miller said.

Miller said his wife comes up with the recipes and he’s the taste tester.

“We want that “wow” factor when you eat it,” Miller said.

He said part of the secret to his popcorn’s taste is using “high quality” popcorn seeds that eliminate the husk — otherwise know as the part that gets caught in teeth. Another key, Miller said, is in using certain seeds with certain flavors for optimum taste.

Miller said it’s never been the goal for Inpopnito to be a chain like a Dunkin’ Donuts because it’s a “weekly, monthly or quarterly” business rather than an every day one.

He said Dudding will build her business based on what Milford customers want.

Dudding ran a test store in the Connecticut Post Mall at holiday time two years ago and it was well-received, she said.

Dudding said she’ll expand to do weddings, fundraisers, gift packages at holidays and corporate gifts.

But she’ll never offer too many flavors at one time, because, “I have to make sure the product is fresh.”

Dudding said she’s hoping to reach a 20-mile radius to include Fairfield and New Haven counties.

Customer Gavin Thill, who said he’s a fan of the Newport store, said the popcorn makes fun gifts. He was in the Milford store with friends and they had lots of giggles just talking about the flavors and sampling.

“It tastes great, it’s good for social media,” Thill said.

One of Thill’s friends, Courtney McManus, who is a real estate agent in the city, said when she heard Inpopnito was coming to Milford, “I was excited.”